Apple of my Eye
by doctress
Summary: What she was supposed to do was tutor young Charlie. But what she ended up doing was teaching an antisocial chocolatier about life, love and family. [WonkaOC]
1. Snow

**Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff. Roald Dahl, WB, and Tim Burton do. So don't sue me. **

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"Charlie! Hurry up sweetheart, or you'll be late for school again!" yelled Mrs. Bucket. She ducked back into the house and finished preparing breakfast.

Moments later, the form of a young boy appeared through the powdered sugar snow. He was running a fast as his little legs could, and nearly barreled over Grandpa Joe as he entered the room.

"Sorry Grandpa Joe. I'm in a hurry!" explained a frantic Charlie. He sped past the bed with the rest of his grandparents in it and climbed the ladder up to his room. Grabbing his books, Charlie raced downstairs to give goodbye kisses to everyone. He was almost out of there when his mother called after him.

"Wait, Charlie. Don't forget your lunch. And your Scarf! Oh, and look both ways before crossing the street!"

"Ok, mum! I'll see you later!" yelled Charlie over his shoulder. He sprinted over the little hill/bridge with the mushrooms and barreled through the door that led to the long hallway. Not bothering to stop, he picked his coat and scarf off the ground while still at a run. He was about to run outside when Willy Wonka himself appeared at the door.

"Oh, little boy—I mean, Charlie! I need your help with the licorice string we were working on. The oompa loompas—"

"I'm sorry Mr. Wonka, but I'll help you when I get back. I'm late for school again." Interrupted Charlie.

"Oh, right. School…" said Willy with a far away look in his eyes.

Charlie recognized that look. It was his I'm-having-a-flashback-look. Shifting impatiently, Charlie looked at his watch. Ten minutes till eight! He didn't have time for another flashback of his! His teacher had made it clear that if he were late one more time, he would be placed on the truancy list.

Giving his watch one more look, Charlie made up his mind. He would stay and help Willy. He owed him that much. He had made him his heir and had taken his family in. He owed everything to the man in front of him. Sighing, he stood and waited for Willy to come out of his trance like state.

_**w.W.w**_

It was snowing. Again. Beatrice Hall looked up at the sky and frowned.

She had only been in England for a total of 7 days and she was already sick of the weather. Pulling her coat tighter around her, she trudged through the snow and made her way to the local café.

Once inside, she let the warm atmosphere defrost her body and ordered a cup of coffee. Picking up a newspaper, she sat down and opened up to the job section. Sipping at the scalding liquid, she prepared herself for another hour of 'job hunting'.

_**w.W.w**_

And so, the hour came and went, and all Beatrice had found so far was an opening at the local hotel. Apparently they needed a new concierge. Frowning, Beatrice picked up her things and proceeded to go back into the arctic weather.

Ok, so maybe she was exaggerating with the 'arctic' part, but compared to the weather she was used to, this place was like Antarctica.

Shivering almost as soon as she stepped out, Beatrice made up her mind and headed back to her new home.

Having just moved to the UK, Beatrice didn't know that many people or that many places. She knew her landlady, and her next-door neighbors, but that was the extent of her familiarity with the people around there.

Turning the corner, Beatrice expected to see the familiar brown building of new home, but instead, what she saw was a huge factory. In her seven days of living in the area, Beatrice had never once seen this place. How she could have missed those towering smoke stacks was beyond her.

Deciding to take a closer look, she walked over and peered in through the iron gates. _Nothing special about this place. It looks so… dull. But I wonder if they're hiring? _Deciding that there was nothing more to see, Beatrice doubled back and headed home. Tomorrow she would deliver her resume to the hotel, and maybe she would even send one to the big factory.

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Did you read it? **Good.** Now go review! They authoress loves getting feedback.

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Ok, a question for all of you. How was the character portrayal in this chapter? Was it straight on? Or was it so far off that you couldn't even recognize the characters? 


	2. Resumes

**Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or its characters. For a more detailed explanation, see previous disclaimer.**

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**First**: Beatrice **Middle**: E.** Last**: Hall

**Address**: 4243 Topher Lane Apt. #8

**Phone**: none as of yet

**Sex**: Female

**Education level**: 4-year college in the US

**References**: Listed on Application

**Personal experience**: Worked as management for booksellers company in New York. Was once a Director in a publishing house. Served as a translator in a government facility. Taught homeless children in South America.

**Specialties**: Knows several languages. Well read in history and Literature. A people person.

_**w.W.w**_

As Beatrice checked over her resume again, she realized two things. One, she was liar. And two, she was almost out of ink.

So, in conclusion, Beatrice E. Hall was a liar with low ink. Perhaps it was karma?

After all, the 'booksellers company' was actually a small bookstore in the Village. And she was actually head of all interns at the publishing house, not a director. And the only serving as a translator in a government facility she did was when she translated what the stamp machine said to an old Polish woman.

At least those had some truth to them. The last one was a complete lie. She had never been to South America, and she had never met homeless children.

Looking at the clock on her computer screen, Beatrice noticed it was close to two in the morning. She gave her resume one last meaningful stare, and finally gave in. Hitting the 'Print' button, she watched in apprehension as it stated to print.

_Please, please let there be enough ink left. Please. _Beatrice let out the breath she had been holding as two copies of her resume were printed. The little light on her printer started blinking as soon as the last page came out. It seems her little printer ran out of ink just after printing her resumes.

Mmm… Karma indeed.

_**w.W.w**_

Charlie and Willy had made quick work of fixing the licorice string, and had spent the rest of the day in the Testing room. They were testing the Air Light Cotton Candy.

And so, after eating the cotton candy, Willy, Charlie, and two oompa loompas, spent hours floating above the ground. They had become as light as air… er… as light as the molecules in the air that is.

Every draft of air sent them sailing through the air, only to collide with other things in the room: chairs, ceilings, walls, each other. Pretty soon, bruises and bumps were all over the four. Thankfully, the effects of the candy wore off soon after.

_**w.W.w**_

It was four hours later as Charlie limped out of the Testing room with Willy not far behind. Both were looking quite disheveled.

Charlie's sweater was twisted around and his shirttails were hanging out. One big red mark on his cheek indicated where he crashed into the wall—face first. And the always immaculately dressed Willy was looking even worse than Charlie. His top hat was flattened due to hitting the ceiling at a rather fast speed, his normally impeccable plush coat was rumpled, and one of the shoulder pads was pushed in. Willy's Price Valiant haircut was mussed up and his high bangs were askew.

All in all, it was a fun experiment and they got away with only some minor injuries. Of course, now they would have to put some type warning on the wrapper.

Charlie's stomach growled all of a sudden, causing the pair to stop. Bewildered, Willy looked around for the source of the noise. His violet eyes landed on Charlie.

Backing away from him as if he suddenly sprouted warts, Willy asked, "Are you alright? You're not sick are you? Cause if you are—"

"No, Mr. Wonka. That was my stomach you heard. I'm just hungry." Explained Charlie. "Come on. Let's go back to my house for lunch."

"Oh. Okay!" said a relieved Willy.

_**w.W.w**_

Mrs. Bucket was cooking while the grandparents were asleep when Willy and Charlie entered the house. Surprised at their sudden appearance, and at their disheveled look, she dropped the spoon she was holding and walked over to the two. "Oh my goodness! Charlie, what happened? Why, the two of you are a mess!"

Charlie gave her a sheepish smile. "Mum, we're fine. We were just trying out some stuff. Really."

Mrs. Bucket gave her son a suspicious look then. "Charlie, why are you home from school so early?"

This time Willy spoke up. "Actually, Charlie never went to school today. He was with me the entire day." He flashed Mrs. Bucket a dazzling white smile.

"What? Charlie, is this true?" asked Charlie's mother. When he wouldn't meet her eyes, she knew. She rounded on Willy then. "How could you take him away from his studies? Mr. Wonka, I understand that you need his help, but couldn't it wait until after school?"

Looking extremely guilty and uncomfortable, Willy responded. "Well… you see… I…. Heh. Oops."

Mrs. Bucket was speechless.

-Well, not quite.

"Oops. Oops! You are an adult! You should know these things already! I- you- ugh." Mrs. Bucket gave up and went back to cooking. Rather aggressively.

Feeling lowly and guilty, Willy wished he could make it up to Mrs. Bucket. _But how? Should I make her a giant card out of her favorite candy? Or perhaps singing butterscotch daffodils?_ Unfortunately, every idea Willy thought of probably would have just made Mrs. Bucket even more upset.

Suddenly, Willy's overactive mind churned out an idea that would help settle the problem. He knew it would be risqué, but he would do it anyway. After all, it was for Charlie. And finding someone who wanted to work for him shouldn't be too hard.

_**w.W.w**_

Oh, but Willy was wrong. Finding someone to tutor Charlie was a very arduous task. He had put an ad in the newspaper and so far, only complete nut jobs had applied. Really, and people thought he was weird.

Shifting through the mountains of applications, Willy finally got out of his office. Not three steps later, he ran into an Oompa Loompa. He bent over and took the paper from the tiny hands. Thanking his by crossing his arms over his chest, he turned around and headed back to his office with a sigh.

Another resume. Oh joy. Looking at the paper he had in his hands, he decided to get it over with and just read it.

_Hmmm… Beatrice Hall… college… taught children… people person. _Smiling all of a sudden, Willy turned abruptly and ran into a stack of resumes. Picking himself up, he picked his out and called for an Oompa Loompa.

Minutes later, a little man in a blue jumpsuit appeared. "Hello. Can you contact this person and have her come tomorrow. I want to interview her for the job. Thank you." Explained Willy.

The little person nodded and headed off. Grinning, now that the task was done, Willy made his way to the Bucket house to tell them the good news.

Oh it was going to be great surprise!

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Read? **Good. **Review please!

So, Willy actually gets more than a few lines this time! I hope I didn't screw it up. Anyway, I'm still working on my OC. You'll learn more about her as the story goes on.

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To my darling Reviewers:

**Mary aka FTCrodis: **(Thank you! I was nervous about my Wonka) **Vicangel: **(Thanks! I like the whole 'fetch' thing) **Priestess of Anubis: **(Thank you! I'm glad you think my characters came out well) **vampman: **(Thank you so much for your review! I found it very helpful (detailing Beatrice) and it made me feel all fuzzy on the inside. Thanks!) **Wicked Seraphina: **(Thank you! I think it was the longest I gotten for this story! A mafia man corpse riddled with lead, huh? Nice one. Anyway, thanks for the awesome review!) **PucktoFaerie: **(Thank you! I hope I can continue to make it interesting) **Anony-MOUSE: **(Thanks! I found that part funny too.) **angelofire:** (thanks so much!) **BloodRoses1619: **(Thanks! I hope I can get his character right for the rest of the story. I loved the quote at the beginning.) **Vampirehelsing: **(Thank you so much!)


	3. Letters

**Disclaimer: I do not own this Willy Wonka you speak of. And who is this Roald Dahl you say that actually owns him?**

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**AN: I'm baaaaccckkk!**

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Like so many people around the world, Beatrice liked to read her mail while walking back to her home. Normally, she would collect her mail and flip through it while walking back up the stairs to her little apartment.

Today was no different. Beatrice walked down the flights of stairs and opened up her mailbox. She pulled out: an ad for miracle vitamins, the ad for the local grocery store, a few bills, and two letters.

Beatrice was hoping that one of them was a reply from her applications. She turned to go back up the stairs when she saw the return address on one of the envelopes. She stopped moving. She stopped breathing. It was possible her heart stopped beating for a moment as well.

It couldn't be.

Not ever.

Improbable.

_Impossible._

Oh, but it was.

_**w.W.w**_

It was dark out. Well, not incredibly so because the street lamps were on, but it was still dark out. Anyway, a small figure was walking out of the darkness. Wait - no- he wasn't walking. He was riding on the back of a small red motorbike.

The gates to Wonka's factory opened, just enough, for the lone rider to pass through.

At first it went straight down the street. Then it turned left. It kept going and going, but then made another left. The tiny figure finally stopped and hopped of the bike. It kicked the stand out and walked up the steps of the building. Checking the number on the mailboxes, he nodded to himself and proceeded to stick a letter into one of them.

Pleased with his handiwork, the tiny figure went back down the steps and got back onto the bike. And left.

Leaving behind a letter that would change the life of one certain individual, who lived at 4243 Topher Lane, Apartment number 8.

_**w.W.w**_

He sent her a letter.

She couldn't believe it. He actually sent her a letter.

Beatrice looked down at the letter in her hands in disbelief. It had been how long now?

… long enough.

Bradon. He sent her a letter.

The very same Bradon who proposed to her before she left for England. Her fiancé, Bradon.

A look of utter shock formed crossed her face. She had written Bradon when she first got here, mainly because she didn't have a phone yet. But she didn't expect him to reply.

Well – no, she did expect him to reply, but certainly not so soon!

And how he learned of her new address was a mystery. She didn't use her current address to send it. In fact, she had only told one other person. And he would never tell.

Consumed by curiosity, Beatrice was preparing to run upstairs and read her letter when a voice sounded behind her.

"Hey! Wait lady, you forgot something!"

Beatrice turned around a saw a young boy, standing next to her mailbox, holding a rather large envelope.

"Oh, thank you. I guess I must have dropped it." She went over and took the envelope from his hands.

"Yeah, well, I thought you might want to see it. It's from Wonka. My Mum got one yesterday. In fact, half of England must have gotten one, seeing as how almost everyone applied for the position." Shrugged the boy. "If that is the rejection letter, you can always eat it you know. The paper and envelope are edible. It's supposed to be some sort of condolence gift."

"Oh." Beatrice didn't know what to say. She was too nervous.

"Yeah, well, good luck lady." And with that he turned and ran down the street.

Beatrice, on the other hand, seemed frozen to the spot. She couldn't bring herself to go upstairs and open the letter. Which was silly, actually. She had only applied on a whim. She didn't know that the factory was actually hiring. Oh God!

She should have spent more time on her resume then! What if…? And if they…? She would…?

Steeling herself, Beatrice walked up the stairs automatically. Not thinking, not doing much but walking. When she was inside, she immediately sat down and pulled the letters onto her lap.

Which would she read first? Bradon's or Wonka's? Or the third letter? Picking it up, Beatrice read the return address. It was from her family's solicitor. Ah… better wait till later to open that one.

_**w.W.w**_

Phew. Keeping 'Operation find Charlie a Tutor' a secret was tough. Especially when he had broadcasted it in a major newspaper. Even though he had already found someone and retracted the ad, the papers were still reporting on it.

And he didn't want Charlie or his parents to find out until he was ready to tell them. After all, it was a surprise. But, Charlie and his family kept insisting on reading the paper! It was all Willy could do to keep them at bay.

At first he had the Oompa Loompas create a fake one, but then that became too difficult to do. Next, Willy tried to simply deny ever subscribing to a newspaper. …But that wasn't a very credible plan. So, now, Willy had simply taken to hiding from the Bucket family whenever they asked about the paper.

That was working fine until Willy realized Mr. Bucket was bound to hear about the ad from the toothpaste factory! So Willy had asked the Oompa Loompas to but extra Deafening Pop Rocks into Mr. Bucket's coffee. So far, it had worked well. Mr. Bucket couldn't hear anything unless you yelled very loudly into his ear.

Heh…

_**w.W.w**_

_Dear Ms. Beatrice E. Hall,_

_I, Willy Wonka, would like to inform you that you have been chosen out of the many to work for me. You will arrive at my factory on January 3. The gates will open for you at precisely 8 o'clock. Do not be late. Pensions and such will be settled with my finance manager. _

_Until then,_

_Willy Wonka_

_P.S. By the way, you can eat the envelope if you like._

_**w.W.w**_

_Bea,_

_Hey there beautiful. It's Bradon. But, you probably know that already. Anyway, I was worried when you didn't call me when you arrived. But then I got your letter a few days later. It sounds like your having a good time. I'm glad you like England. But…_

_God Bea, I miss you! I miss they way you smile at me, the way you laugh, I miss waking up to you in the mornings… I would ask you to come back, but I know that's not going to do anything. I can only hope that you'll change your mind one day and come back to me._

_Until then, I'll be waiting. I'll wait for as long as it takes._

_I love you. _

_Bradon_

_**w.W.w**_

Beatrice couldn't sleep that night. Not with everything that had happened to her today. Her new job… Bradon… her family… It was just – too much.

She got out of bed, grabbed her keys and her jacket and left the apartment. She needed some company tonight, and she knew just where to go.

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**It feels so good to be back! Well? Did you guys like this long-overdue chapter?**

**Or… did my writing capabilities suddenly disappear? **

**I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a comment. It helps me improve (and feel flattered)!**

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**The feedback has been so great! Keep it up and you might get another chapter sooner than you expect.**

**BloodRoses1619: **I agree, I could use some candy that makes me float. Thank _you_ for the scrumptious review! **Willy Wonka's Woman: **No! Don't apologize! I'm just glad you enjoyed the story so far and found the will power to review. ;)** Vicangel: **Thank you! Unfortunately, real life prevented me from updating sooner **Alicat: **Haha, thanks for the cute review! We'll see about Beatrice and Willy…** PucktoFaerie: **yes, I like the lying part too. Thanks for the review!** Prince Joker:** Haha! Willy's a kook. Gotta put that in somehow! Thanks! **Music is my Muse: **Uh… how would you define 'soon'? Thanks for the review!** Vampirehelsing: **thanks bud! **Elmoever: **I'm glad you like it! Thanks!** Chocolate14: **I'm creative? Aw.. thanks!** Milk the bob man: **thank you! I'm glad you think my Willy is authentic!


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